Kearney continues diving through pain

Junior diver Katie Kearney hits the water at the Sonny Werblin
Recreation?Center during a practice dive, which causes pain after
she dislocated her shoulder earlier in the season.

Every time junior diver Katie Kearney jumps off the board,
Rutgers diving coach Fred Woodruff winces as she cuts her way
through the water.

He does not cringe because of the way the dive looks. He reacts
accordingly because he knows with each dive, his captain hits the
pool with pain.

“She dives in pain every day,” Woodruff said. “She’s having a hard
time with her injuries.”

Kearney dislocated her shoulder three weeks ago during practice,
dislodging it as she hit the water. The injury left the junior with
the excruciating soreness she deals in every practice and
event.

“I have a torn labrum and a torn shoulder capsule,” Kearney said.
“When [my shoulder] relocated, it went in the wrong place, so it’s
been really painful.”

The shoulder pain resulted in Kearney being limited during training
sessions as she tries to heal and practice at the same time. The
accompanying agony affects how she executes her routines.

“It’s been a struggle,” Kearney said. “I’m able to get my dives
off, but they just aren’t as good right now. I just have to keep
positive and think that I will get back to what I was.”

One thing Kearney does not use the injury for is as an
excuse.

The Mahwah, N.J., native credits her upbringing as the reason she
fights through the excruciating pain every time she slices through
the air and into the pool.

“I grew up with four brothers, so you don’t show pain around them,”
Kearney said. “You get tackled and wrestled with all the time, so
pain just comes with it.”

Woodruff sees how determined the captain is to improve despite her
shoulder problems, pointing to her leadership as essential to the
program.

“She has shoulder problems and she dives in pain every day and just
grits it out,” Woodruff said. “She is tough as nails. She is the
one that grounds the team. She is king of the glue that keeps
everyone together.”

Woodruff credits Kearney’s leadership ability as one of the main
reasons the divers performed so well through six meets and why the
Scarlet Knights are currently undefeated.

“I’m really proud of her and what she brings to the team,” Woodruff
said. “She keeps everyone aware of what needs to be done, what’s
going on and where we need to be. She’s our captain and definitely
our leader.”